


Teach me to love you

by Trenchcoat_Dragon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Ice Skating, M/M, Mild Language, No Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-25 08:58:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17118314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trenchcoat_Dragon/pseuds/Trenchcoat_Dragon
Summary: Keith needs something to do in his gap year, and Lance is a junior ice-skating coach. Get ready for some Klance fluff and angst!





	1. The Five Lions Ice-skating Rink

Keith hesitates, one hand reaching towards the glass door. The neon sign above seems inviting, but he is in no mood to be let down again. Only an hour ago, he had been excitedly looking up the directions on Google maps. Thirty minutes after that he had walked towards the Regent Archery Club with almost a skip in his step. But it had only taken him ten seconds to realise that the windows were boarded up, the carpark was empty and upon closer inspection, a 'CLOSED INDEFINITELY' note had been carelessly tacked to the window. Not exactly a hopeful start to his gap year.

Keith had arrived in Atlanta four days ago. Shiro had just started his third year at the Georgia Institute of Technology, studying Aerospace Engineering. The two of them had decided years ago that once Keith had finished high school, he would move to live with Shiro until he decided what he wanted to study at university. Even though he had boarded at school, Keith never made many friends, and so moving across the country didn't really bother him. 

The one thing that Keith had enjoyed more than anything at Kent School was the archery. It was a chance to spend time away from the other students, a solitary activity that held none of the embarrassment of team sports. Unsurprisingly, it was one of the first things he looked for, once he had settled in to Shiro's apartment. His brother had even lent him his car, and he had been excited to get a chance to explore his new city.

Keith's hand hovers above the handle for a few more seconds before he realises that one of the staff members inside is staring at him. Keith stares back before gathering enough courage to walk inside. He has not been ice skating for a very long time, and he is not particularly excited to make a fool of himself in front of other members of the public. Still, he needs to find something else to do with the afternoon - or face Shiro's guilt for 'forcing' Keith to move to a new state. It didn't matter how many times Keith insisted he was happy to be in Atlanta, Shiro never fully believed him. Keith knew that he needed to show Shiro that he was truly happy before he'd be content.

Keith thanks the heavens that he chose a weekday to explore Atlanta because the ice rink is relatively quiet. A girl of about sixteen is the only staff member at the counter, her glasses too big for her face and her hastily pinned name badge introducing her as 'Katie'. She greets him with a curt "Hi how can I help you" and Keith is quickly handed a pair of skates. They look much bigger than he remembers, but the rink itself looks tiny. Keith recalls the first time he set foot on the ice, shuffling his tiny feet behind his mum as she helped him steady himself. He was terrible back then, terrified of falling over or crashing into someone. He could do little more than place one foot in front of the other and slide across the rink. Hopefully he won't be so bad now.

After strapping his feet into his skates and waddling over to the edge of the ice, Keith feels a slight wave of anxiety begin in his chest. He really has no idea how to do this, and he has no one with him to help. So he stands to the side and observes the other skaters, hoping to learn something from them. The first person he notices is one of the instructors, a boy about the same age as Keith, with a grace to his movements that he immediately envies. The boy is built like a ballet dancer, his feet gliding across the ice as he reaches out to stop a little girl from slipping over. Keith is completely entranced, watching his every movement, until the boy turns and looks at him. He smiles, his eyes lighting up as they meet Keith's, and then he turns back to the kids. Keith has to shake himself before he can focus his attention on a few of the other skaters.

In the end, he finds that he isn't learning much by observation and soon becomes impatient to begin. However, this means that his first footfall on the ice is at far too quick a pace and before he knows it, he slides in a wobbly line across the rink and slams (loudly) into the side of the rink. Someone snickers as they skate past and almost immediately, he feels his face heat up despite the cold. Fantastic.

Keith falls over four times before he manages to move away from the side of the rink. By now, he has been passed by the other skaters ten or twenty times, and is beyond the initial state of embarrassment. He is cold, and his trousers are completely soaked, but he is determined to at least complete one lap around the rink. So he plants one foot in front of the other and pushes off from the wall. Too hard. Too hard! Shit that's a wall shit no fuck how do you break shit shit shit-

Keith slams into the other boy and is only stopped from falling to the ice by the boy hooking his own foot behind Keith's skates. It's a strange move, and Keith is sure that they're both going to topple, until he flails out his hands and grasps onto the boy's shirt, finding him planted firmly in the ice. It's the instructor from earlier. His chest is pleasantly muscled, and he's taller than Keith, although not by much. Keith blinks up at him, finding those same blue eyes from earlier still twinkling, before registering his actions.

"Holy shit, I am so clumsy! I'm so sorry!"  
"There's nothing to apologise for!" Lance smiles, a sweet, genuinely happy smile. "You're new here, aren't you? Hi, I'm Lance."  
"Keith." He is still entwined in Lance's arms, unsure of how safe he'll be if he lets go. "I moved from Connecticut. I haven't skated in a long time and I really SUCK."  
Lance looks Keith up and down briefly, something that is difficult to do given their close proximity.  
"Well, seems like you might have found yourself an instructor! Or maybe flung yourself into the arms of one." He winks. Keith is enchanted. "Free of charge, as a welcome to Atlanta."

Keith has no idea what to say. He just crashed into this boy, this kind, beautiful boy, and now he's offering to help him? 

"Uhh, wow, that's really kind! Don't you have other classes to run?"  
"Nah, the junior classes have finished for the afternoon and I'm about to clock off. I reckon we could spend an hour on the ice and you'll be skating like a pro! Scout's honour." Lance takes Keith's hand and pulls him to the side of the rink. "Let's start with your balance."

Indeed, an hour later Keith is far more steady on his feet. He had a few mishaps, but each time Lance caught him before he did anyone any damage. He is certainly not proficient yet, but he no longer needs to hold on to Lance's hand. A shame, really. It was warm, despite the cold of the ice, and fit perfectly in Keith's. 

By now, it's way past the time Keith expected to return home and he realises that Shiro must think he got lost. It's also close to the closing time of the rink for the afternoon, so Keith thanks Lance and skates off the edge of the ice, waddling back to his stuff. Much to his surprise, Lance follows him and when Keith sits down to untie his skates, he does the same. 

"Hey, thanks heaps for the lesson! I was making such a fool of myself and you swooped in like a guardian angel." Keith blushes. He sounds like an idiot.  
Lance laughs lightly. "It was absolutely no problem! It was honestly a welcome change from all the preschool kids." He pauses to untie his other skate. "So what made you choose to come here?"  
"To Atlanta or to the ice rink?"  
"Well, both, I guess."  
"I moved to Atlanta because I just finished high school, and my brother is studying at uni here. I moved out to live with him until I decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. And I came to ice rink by accident, really. I was trying to find an archery club, but the only one I located was permanently closed."  
"The Regent Archery Club?"  
"Yeah, that's the one."  
"My sister used to work there. You're right though, I don't know of any other clubs near here."  
"I passed this place when I was driving back home. I wanted to do something with my afternoon, and thanks to you, I have." Keith smiles up at Lance and then stands.  
"I've really got to get going, my brother is probably beginning to wonder where I got to." And your eyes are really too distracting.  
"Well, I'd love to skate with you again. I work on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, although I'm here most days even if I'm not working. I have a million different cousins on school break and the only entertainment I'm good at is ice skating." Lance groans, rolling his eyes good-naturedly at the thought of his family.  
"I've got a whole year of time to kill. I don't think this is the last you'll see of me."

Once Keith is back in his car, he catches himself still blusing in the mirror. What a total idiot. He shakes his head and then pulls his phone out to text Shiro. He knows for sure that it won't be hard to convince his brother that he will be very content to stay in Atlanta.


	2. Champion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is competing in an ice-skating tournament and Keith just keeps falling deeper in love. Pidge is a Klance shipper.

Shiro is initially pleased after hearing of his brother's adventure, but this soon turns to teasing. If Keith walks into something, or if he's caught staring off into space, Shiro doesn't miss a chance to raise his eyebrows and smirk. What pisses Keith off the most is that 90% of the time, he's right. He just can't get that damn boy out of his mind.

Keith has had exactly six crushes on people on the past. Five were completely unrequited, either because the other party was straight or Keith never said anything (although Keith found out later that Dane had practically thrown himself out of the closet as soon as he reached university). The sixth was the only boy Keith had ever kissed, and he had turned out to be both a bad kisser and a complete asshole. Once Keith had broken off the relationship (if it could be called that), the boy had not stopped verbally abusing Keith at school until Shiro got involved.

That was how Shiro had found out Keith was gay - Keith had been sobbing violently in their bathroom, Shiro had come to see what was wrong, and Keith had eventually spilled the whole story out. He had been 15 at the time, two years out of foster care now that Shiro could legally look after him. They had both ended up crying on the floor of the bathroom, their shared heartbreak returning to more distant memories.

Keith had been walking around the local mall in search of a new pair of gloves when he had come upon a poster hastily stuck to a shop window. The poster had been badly printed by a psychopath who had used comic sans and purple paper, but the clipart graphic of a pair of ice skates was easy enough to see. Keith feels his heart flutter a little as he recalls the perfect afternoon he had experienced, more than four weeks ago. As his eyes travel down the page, which advertised a 'SPECTACULAR ICESKATING SHOW! GREAT FOR THE KIDS!', Keith suddenly comes upon the name of Lance McClain.  
'This Thursday, come and see all that our rink has to offer! Witness our best skaters fight for the annual crown! Watch our junior and senior figureskating classes show off their skills! Free candy floss for the kids!'

When Keith arrives at the ice rink, he's already fifteen minutes late. Due to his terrible sense of direction, he took a wrong turn in the dark and ended up driving ten minutes in the wrong direction. He sprints towards the door, hearing loud music blaring from the inside. It gets him past the initial hesitation he suffered last time, and soon he's passing through the entrance after purchasing a ticket. The place is completely packed. In his haste, he almost runs into a tiny boy holding a stick of candy floss the size of his head. The boy looks up at him with big brown eyes and then turns back to his mother, who glares back at Keith. Keith offers a quick but sincere apology, and slows his pace as he approaches the ice. 

He has absolutely no idea (well he does, but he doesn't want to admit it) why he's so anxious to not miss any minute of the show. Once he reaches the front, he sees that the show has begun but the skaters on the ice are all female, all wearing black tutus, and all under the age of 10. He breathes a quick sigh of relief and searches the crowd for the brown haired boy that has captured his heart. He doesn't find Lance, but does spot the candy floss machine. Satisfying the small child inside him, he decides to go get a stick. 

Almost as soon as he returns to the side of the rink after (politely) fighting pass more small children and their angry parents, the second part of the competition begins. A lady with a microphone stands in the middle of the rink, announcing the rules of the competition and hyping the crowd. Keith doesn't listen to much of it, simply waiting for the first competitors and unsuccessfully trying to quell his illogical excitement. He knew Lance for, what, two hours? and somehow he's hoping that he'll remember him! What a fucking lovestruck idiot. 

The first skater to enter the ice is not Lance. He is taller, with white-blonde shoulder-length hair, and is introduced as 'Lotor, Speed Demon'. He dances across the ice, sneering at the crowd and skating a perfect figure-eight before coming to a stop before the announcer. He wears a jet black skating outfit, with sheer sleeves, intricate beading, and gleaming skates. he makes Keith's skin crawl, and not just because he looks impossible to beat. 

The second skater to enter the ice wears a dazzling turquoise waistcoat, made to look like his chest is made of cresting waves. His skates are gold and he has a touch of gold glitter on his face. He beams at his audience, executes a flawless double axel and abruptly stops beside Lotor, spraying the rink with ice from his skates. To the crowd, he's 'Lance, Sharpskater'. To Keith, he looks like a god.

Lance takes out his competition with two 8s and a 9, progressing to the next round. Lotor slinks off the ice and Lance stays on, proudly bowing and taking the applause. Keith has fallen in love and is only slighty aware of the candy floss that is now stuck to his shirt. 

The next couple of rounds don't involve Lance since they're for different age groups. When Lance does come back on, he skates against a girl called Romelle and only narrowly beats her. She takes the defeat in her stride, smiling at Lance who preceeds to give her a one handed hug as they skate off the ice. Keith feels his jealously rising until he sees Romelle moves towards another boy, who gives her a kiss on the forehead and a full hug. 

Lance is NOT his. He has NO right to feel jealousy. He's such a FUCKING idiot.

Keith has to wait for another half an hour before the skating final. He spends most of it picking candy floss off of his clothes. It's the last event of the night, so everyone is both tired and excited, leaving a strange air in the place. Keith's nerves get increasingly worse, until he feels like he's going to throw up, but suddenly there are cheers in the rink as two competitors skate onto the ice at the same time. The audience knows them well by now, there is no need for an introduction. They will not skate separately, either, the final is a head-to-head skate-off until one is crowned the winner. Lance looks tired but alive, his face glowing slightly with persperation and excitement. The other competitior, Hunk, is all smiles and seems popular with the kids in the audience.

"Ice-skating superfan, are you?" The voice comes from someone to Keith's right. When he turns, he sees the girl who served him the last time he was here, Katie. She's looking at his knuckles, which are clenched on the edge of the rink and almost white. "Oh, uhhhh-" Keith blushes and quickly glances back at Lance, who is shaking hands with Hunk. Hunk slaps him on the back in return. Keith turns back to Katie and sees that she has followed his gaze. She smirks and raises an eyebrow. Busted.

"Hmmmm. Maybe a fan of something else?" She's full-on grinning now, and Keith blushes a much deeper shade of red. "I'm Katie, although most of my friends call me Pidge."  
"Keith. I think you served me a couple of weeks ago?"  
"I take it you know Lance, then."  
"Sort of, I met him the first time I was here."  
"Quite a first impression, then!" Suddenly a horn blows and both he and Pidge whip back to the figures on the ice.

The competition is tight, and many times it looks like it could go either way, but in the end Lance prevails. Keith woops the loudest, claps the hardest out of everyone else, but quietens down a bit when he sees Pidge out of the corner of his eye. Lance starts skating around the rink in a celebratory lap of success, and Keith feels his heart stop as he passes an arm's breadth away from Keith. Then he turns slightly, and looks Keith straight in the eyes. His own eyes light up and Keith could swear that he winks before turning back to the rest of the audience. He can't breathe. He can't fucking breathe. Fuck fuck fuck- 

Katie's nudge at the side of his hip wakes him from his revery and her raised eyebrows confirm that he wasn't dreaming. She nudges him again until he blinks and actually shakes his head slightly. She giggles and almost sings:  
"Maybe Laaaance is a fan of something too…"


	3. A Christmas Skate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Coran and Allura, the latter Shiro's gf. To spice it up, some Christmas spirit and angst to boot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow am I shit at sticking to deadlines. Oh well. Have chapter 3, finally.

Lance couldn't believe it when he locked eyes with Keith. He hadn't even asked, had never even mentioned it, and yet he'd come? To watch him? No, he had no way of knowing whether it was for him or for another skater. There were many other skaters that he might have come for, maybe he was friends with one of them. Maybe he was dating one of them.

Lance practically skates into Romelle before she moves out of his way and catches him by the shoulder. "Lance, watch where you're going!"   
"Shit, sorry Romelle!"  
"Congratulations, by the way!" She beams at him, pats him on the arm and walks away, leaving Lance standing like a dumbass in the middle of the SKATERS ONLY section. He had to shake himself until his head was clear enough to get Keith out of it. JeeeSUS he was completely screwed.

Lance had always been pretty comfortable with his sexuality. Once he realised he liked both guys and girls, and he found out the term 'bisexual', he was perfectly content to be bi. And once he came out to his family, though first his elder sister, he found that they were as supportive as he could have hoped for. Through high school, he had dated a couple of people, but never really stuck with them for more than a couple of months. The breakup was always mutual, and always peaceful - they just always fell out of love. So Lance was happy to be alone for now. He was perhaps waiting for the 'right' guy or girl to waltz into his life, but he wasn't really looking too hard. That is, until he met Keith.

He'd never EVER felt like that so quickly after meeting someone. Even locking eyes with Keith for the first time across the ice rink had almost causes a heart attack. And then, when Keith slammed into him and their bodies were pressed against one another (for even just a second)? It felt unreal, like he was in a dream. So when he saw Keith again at the competition, when his dream had reappeared, and had even smiled at him? Truly, Lance had never felt like this and he honestly had no idea how to proceed.

Christmas season at the rink meant that Lance no longer taught ice-skating lessons. Instead, he had to supervise hourly game sessions on the ice, picking up kids that had fallen over, throwing the occasional foam dice, or giving safety annoucements. It was boring and repetitive, but Lance always had another staff member to talk to. Today, he had Hunk and Romelle to liven it up a bit. Part of the job during the holiday season involved wearing costumes - apparently it increased the attendance of children under the age of 10 by 50% (although Lance has no idea where they pulled that from, since they've never NOT been required to dress up). Hunk is wearing a ridiculous elf costume, with massive ears and blindingly vibrant red and green stripes across his shirt. Romelle chose to modify one of her skating outfits, adding cotton wool to the bottom of a red leotard skirt and around the collar. She even begrudgingly added a santa hat on top, despite being the most vocal in complaint against having to wear costumes. 

This year, Lance had decided to forgo his usual Jack Frost costume. Before working at the rink, Lance used to help out at a fairground near his family's farm. Initially, he just assisted the face painters by mixing paint or washing brushes. But during one of the more busy days, the main painter called in sick and instead of shutting down that part of the fair, Lance offered to step in. When the other painter hesitated, Lance pulled over a mirror and preceded to paint a perfect copy of the most intricate butterfly design they had on offer on his own face. He was quickly promoted. 

Besides ice-skating, painting is Lance's passion. He is waiting one more year to build up his portfolio before he is going to apply for the Savannah College of Art and Design. That's about as far as his future plans go, but he hopes that he'll get some sort of inspiration out of the degree. Lance has never really been one for long term planning.

It had taken him an hour to finish his face before this shift. To anyone that asked, he'd just say that he wanted to stand out for once this year. If he was being honest, though, it was completely because of a text he had received two days ago.

Unknown number  
Hey, it's Keith! I got ur number from Pidge. My bro's gf has to look after her nephew on thurs, what xmas sessions might be on? Thanks! 

Lance gets a few open-mouths from the kids on the rink. And a wink from Pidge. That produces a quick blush and a brief ponder over Pidge's flawless ability to see affection a mile off. It takes him half an hour to regret his costume decision, though, since the antlers itch something chronic. That is, until a certain mullet enters the scene.

Keith had hesitated mentioning the ice rink to Shiro and Allura because he knew Shiro would jump at the opportunity to meet (terrorise) his new 'crush'. But his eagerness to see Lance again won out and soon the four of them, Coran babbling away beside Keith in the back of the car, set off for the rink. 

Shiro had been dating Allura for four months before Keith moved to Atlanta, and Keith didn't meet her until Shiro forgot his wallet at Uni and Keith dropped it off for him. It took him less than a minute to realise that his brother was completely in love and that Allura was both much too good for him, and equally as in love. Basically, they were a perfect match and made Keith very jealous.

Keith feels the nerves rise again as Shiro pulls up to the ice rink. Unfortunately, it's really busy and the car park is packed, so it takes them another five minutes to find a space. Coran starts fidgeting with the Santa hat on his head, and then he reaches over to Keith and trys to fit it on his head. He completely misses, since his arms are way too small to reach, and it ends up smacking Keith in the face. Shiro bursts out laughing and Keith, face red, defiantly sticks the hat on his head. 

The girl that sells them tickets isn't Pidge, and she's much more polite. Keith doesn't notice her address him until Shiro steps forward and answers her, giving Keith a friendly shove in the process. He was, of course, looking for Lance, but he's saved from admitting that by a tug in his arm by Coran. "Do you want a candy cane?" He's holding three of the sweets in his hands, presumably having picked them up from the basket on the counter. Keith takes one and places it in his pocket, before taking his hand and leading him towards the skate hire desk. He glances back to Allura and Shiro, who have linked arms. Keith rolls his eyes at Shiro and turns around, ready to stop Coran from putting his hands anywhere near the sharp blades of the skates. It's a close call.

Once they get on the ice, Keith quickly realises that Shiro is just as bad as he was when he first started. Forcing his laughter back down into his chest, he assists his fallen brother to his feet and thrusts him into the arms of Allura. She didn't control her mirth, but she was clearly far more capable than Shiro. Coran is also much better than his brother, and quickly stops holding on to Keith's hand. "Keith, go after him!" Shiro gets out before his feet slip under him and he clings tighter to Allura, his prosthetic arm flailing and his left white-knuckled on her shirt. It's a hilarious sight that Keith wishes he could photograph, but knows he'll never forget. 

Keith catches up with Coran quickly, as he's stopped to say hi to a staff member dressed as an elf. The skater has a warm smile and he's happily talking away with the small child, so Keith risks a glance around the rink. No sign of Lance anywhere. After a brief internal conflict, he skates up to the elf and asks, "Are you the only staff on the ice at the moment?"   
"Nah, there's three of us on tonight. Romelle's just over there, and Lance is… somewhere." Hunk glances round. "Where's he got to? Nevermind, he'll be back soon I'm sure." He turns back to Keith. "Why'd you ask?"  
"Oh, I was just wondering-" shit what was he supposed to be wondering "whether you have anyone who could maybe give my brother a few pointers?" He gestures at his still-flailing older brother.   
"Oh yeah, I'll send Romelle over, she normally works with older skaters. His first time on the ice?"  
Hunk and Keith chat for a couple more minutes before Coran becomes bored and skates off around the circle. Keith apologises and follows after him, explains once he reaches the unruly child that he has to stay with Keith or Allura at all times.

"Well, you're a great skater for one so young!" Keith spins around at the sound of the voice. Lance's face has been transformed into that of a deer, his golden skin decorated with white dots and a soft sprinkling of glitter, his eyes and nose lined with black. He even had antlers atop his head, covered in gold bells. To anyone else, he might have looked ridiculous. To Keith, he was magnificent.  
Keith just blinks. Twice. 

"Hey Keith! This must be your friend's nephew. What's your name, sport?"   
"Co-ran! Are you Rudolph?"  
Lance chuckles and shakes his head slightly. "Not quite, although I'm good friends with him." Lance winks at Keith. Fuck he needs to stop doing that. "My name's Lance."   
"Keith, can I go tell Allura that I just met a reindeer?"  
Keith forgets his duties for a second and quickly agrees, not wanting to waste a second alone with the boy in front of him. He does watch his charge skate off, just to make sure he doesn't slip. When he turns back, Lance is grinning at him. "Care to skate a few laps? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Keith and Lance eventually, and inevitably, run into Shiro and Allura. Shiro seems to have got a little more balance, although he and Allura seem joined at the hand. Coran is with them, contentedly staring at the Santa Claus who just entered the ice. Lance introduces himself, oblivious that Keith is blushing and that Shiro is wiggling his eyebrows like an idiot. Keith had to fight the urge to push his brother on to the ice, savouring in his mind the expression that would be on his face.  
"I love your face paint!" Allura smiles up at Lance. "Who did it for you?"  
"Uh, I did." Lance blushes, leaving the two of the looking like twin idiots.   
"It's absolutely incredible!"   
"Lance says he's friends with Rudolph, Auntie Allura!" Coran pipes in, turning away from the Santa for a second. Lance grins back and shakes his antlers slightly, letting the bells tinkle melodically. 

Keith and Lance spend the rest of the evening intermittently skating alone or with Romelle, who is very friendly to Keith and who he learns is training to be a professional ballet dancer. Skating for her is apparently just off-season practice. She does a little pirouette for one of the kids who skates past her and earns herself a round of applause, part of which comes from Keith. 

Suddenly Keith and Lance are alone again. There are other skaters on the ice, but Keith feels like they're the only people in the rink. In the background, the tannoy loudly announces "Free photos with Santa! Come sit on Santa's lap and share the spirit of Christmas! Come find him by the skate hire."  
Keith feels a surge of courage rise in his chest and he skates closer to Lance. Looking up into his face, he whispers, "Do I get a chance to sit in your lap?"

Lance skates backwards a little in shock, his face dropping. Keith feels his stomach drop in answer and the blush he'd manage to control earlier rises more fervently in his cheeks.  
"Oh, oh my god, I have no idea where that came from. I'm so sorry, thank you for your help with tonight. I think we'd better be going!" Keith turns and flusteredly skates off towards his brother, who is standing at the edge of the rink. Shiro takes one look at Keith's face, and as he's always been able to do, reads it correctly and turns to Coran and Allura. They leave the rink, and Keith fights every impulse to turn around and look back. He knows he's fucked up, he just wants to crawl into a hole but unfortunately, he has to get to the car first. And contend with Coran's questioning.  
"But Allura, why did we HAVE to leave yet? I didn't get to say goodbye to Rudolph's friend!"  
"It's past your bedtime, squirt." Allura replies. "Look, you're yawning!"   
"I am not!" Coran whines through a yawn.

Shiro waits back from his girlfriend just long enough to look Keith straight in the face. Keith just shakes his head and walks past his brother, shame at making such a deal of this rejection rising in his chest. When he sits in the back seat of the car, he hears a crunch underneath him and pulls the broken candy cane out of his pocket. Like the emo kid he is, his one thought echoes in his head. Broken like his chances with Lance, friendship or otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a bit of a mess, and that Christmas was a couple of weeks ago (woops). I've just had this in my head for a while. Comments and kudos very welcome and appreciated! <3  
> P.S. Coran as a child is the content we really missed out on.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be multi-chaptered, although I can't promise when the other chapters will be out. Please excuse any spelling mistakes or typos, as well any incorrect assumptions about the USA (I'm Australian). Comments are much appreciated. Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
